Despite all the success Rollins has had in his 14 years in Philadelphia he is still one of the most controversial athletes in the city. For good or for bad Rollins has never been scared about opening his mouth. In 2008, the same year the Phillies would go on to win the World Series, Rollins came under flak for going on the Fox Sports’ show “Best Damn Sports Show Period” and calling out Philadelphia fans for being “front-runners.” This resulted in him being booed by the Philly faithful. Rollins has also been benched multiple times in his career for not running out groundballs and pop flies.

More recently, Rollins has been in the middle of a locker room controversy with manager Ryne Sandberg after being benched for multiple games. Coincidently, the benching occurred after Rollins was quoted in the Philadelphia Daily News as saying, “Who cares,” regarding the Phillies offensive struggles thus far in spring training.

Enough, Jimmy.

Chase Utley is rightly beloved in the city of Philadelphia while Rollins is often times rightly scolded. This is despite the fact that their overall stats are comparable, and Rollins has been able to stay healthy for the majority of his career and win the MVP award. Utley has failed to do both of these things. This is because Utley plays a blue collar style of baseball. He hustles on every ground ball, has a high baseball IQ, is a team first player, respects the fans of Philadelphia, and rarely talks to the media or opens his mouth up.

It’s not about comparing Utley and Rollins. Rather, Utley is an example of the type of player that appeals to a professional sports team and a city like Philadelphia. If Utley is an apple than Rollins is an orange. They are polar opposites, which is why Rollins isn’t appealing to root for. Rollins doesn’t hustle on every ground ball, Rollins is more worried about individual statistics than team ones, and Rollins never shuts his mouth.

The former 2007 MVP no longer has the stats to back up his play either. In 2013, Rollins had career lows in HR, RBI, SB, and SLG. Defensively, Rollins had the lowest dWAR of his career for any one season at -1.0 according to Baseball-Reference. In FanGraphs’ 2013 End of Season Rankings, Rollins was ranked as only the 19th best shortstop out of 29.

It is time for Rollins to quiet his mouth and stop being a distraction to a Phillies team that had its worst season in 2013 since 2000 (Rollins’ first in the league). Rollins should be more focused on being a leader and helping the Phillies once again reach the playoffs. Jimmy’s act has gotten stale in Philadelphia. There was a time when his brash personality was seen as “swagger” for a MVP player on a championship team.

All that is left from that, however, is just the brash personality. No swagger, no MVPs, and no championships. It might be time for Rollins to mature and become a team player. Better yet, it might be time to see a new player standing between second and third base for the Phillies.

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57 Comments

Hoo boy, sure are a lot of racial dogwhistles in this article. Why can’t our lazy black player be more like our gritty white player?

I’m amazed to see people take the side of the organization in this. The Phillies, between Rollins, Abreu, Drew and the whole Oregon State fiasco, has time and again shown that it is an org which works by bullying and running players’ names through the mud. Sad to see some people continue to buy in to the organization’s story hook, line and sinker.

+1 here. This article really sullied my view of PhilliesNation. Out of context quotes and the resulting echo chamber are the worst aspects of Philadelphia sports fandom, and this article is a perfect example of that. I hope it’s not a trend for this site.

I think all this drama concerning Jimmy Rollins may simply be a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. Remember this is spring training, not the deciding game of the World Series. It is a little unclear who said what to who and when they said it; kinda like high school, isn’t it?

In my view the main issue is if this current controversy is an isolated incident, or a glimpse of things to come in the regular season. If it’s’ the former, then there’s nothing to be concerned about; just another twist and turn in a long season. If it’s the latter, then it’s going to be a really long season and Jimmy Rollins’ “Who cares?” will be remembered right up there with Rickey Watters’, “For who? For what?”

I don’t think Ricky Watters was talking about his pre-season stats. I might compare it to Iverson’s “practice” quote, but that doesn’t fit either. It’s not that Rollins doesn’t want to practice, or doesn’t think it’s important, only that the results of the practice games don’t matter.

For those that didn’t click the link, I think it’s important that you see the last two lines of the piece.

“This team’s problems, and there are so many of them, have absolutely nothing to do with Jimmy Rollins’ alleged lack of hustle or leadership. They have everything to do with the way this team has been constructed under the leadership of Ruben Amaro, Jr.

What’s going on here is a classic smoke screen at the expense of a player who should never be treated this way. Shame on you, Phillies. And just stop it.”

Despite reports from many anonymous sources Maikel Franco seems to think Jimmy Rollins is a leader per today’s article on Philly.com

*
Franco has used his first big-league camp to pick up pointers from accomplished infielders, including Jimmy Rollins.

“He’s a very good guy who just wants to help you,” Franco said. “He told me you’ve got good talent, but you want to keep working hard on everything. Don’t forget that you can still get better and better every day. So when you come in, go to the weight room and work out. Talk to somebody. Take ground balls. Tell someone you want to hit early.”
*

What is else is Franco gonna say when he’s a young kid looking to make good? “Oh, I think Jimmy’s a d!ck”? Whats happening is what happens with many players: you can tolerate nonsense when the player and the team is going good but when the team and the players take a turn…sayonara (sp). Jimmy tends to go through periods where he may give less effort than other periods. Its a fact. Losing teams don’t have time for that. So Jimmy either shapes up or ships out. Its up to him. AND! Its nice to think about what a player has done for you over the years but its more important to think about what he’s going to to going forward.

Because it’s better to be a 70 win team than a 68 win team? Because he’s going to be drawing a legion of fans to each home game and boost Comcast’s ratings? Because he brings back that warm fuzzy feeling of the glory days?

I’m more of the school of thought that they’re not going to contend in the last two years of his contract, so there’s not much to lose by seeing what Galvis is as an everyday player. He’s certainly a better defender at this point.

If they are not going to contend anyway, then I don’t want them ruining the end of the career of one of the best players in team history, and I would rather watch Rollins every day than Galvis.

Galvis may be an ok every day player, or maybe not. What he is not, almost certainly, is a future star who is being blocked. If that were the case, I can see trying to push Rollins out of the way. As it is, it’s only despicable.

Are you suggesting that Franco made up those things that he claims Jimmy said to him? If not, why shouldn’t we credit Jimmy for taking the time to do what everyone seems to be killing him for not doing (i.e. being a leader)? Jimmy didn’t have to take the time to give Franco advice. There’s nothing in it for him at this point as he’ll most likely be gone before Franco provides help to this organization.

This article is authorized under decreasing trading value granted by the Philadelphia National League club. It should be solely intended for the reading pleasure of said club’s patrons. Any duplication of the position without the express written consent of the Phillies should be seen as an attempt to make a difficult player/contract to trade for fair value, and is strictly prohibited.

Actually, I guess it’s not prohibited, but the word prohibited certainly appears in the real disclaimer, so I made it prohibited.

As Jimmy would say, who cares, although that’s only the crux of the emotion here. It’ll be interesting to a degree to see how it shakes out. Seems like these type issues reach this far, and the end is in sight. Kind of a shame, but most players move to someone else’s beat. Have to admit that spring numbers being what they are, it’s not unthinkable that Jimmy could have, maybe should have expressed a little concern about his following up a blasé year with a poor batting average even though the work is still the objective.

Honestly, not to put the cart before the horse, but I’m more interested in the assumption playing out that Cliff winds up in a post season chase, and what’s left of my baseball spirit to pull for his getting a rin wherever he might be.

Wonder who the anonymous Rollins dissenter is. Dallas wouldn’t subscribe to Jimmy’s public image. He’ll probably be outspoken even after he be dead, but who knows who Mr. Anonymous is.

Martin Schayder – Not sure who you are. I come on here every day and have never seen one of your other 5 articles and have never seen you comment either. Just what the eff are you trying to say, man? This piece written by you couldn’t be more ridiculous and off-base. I guess you’re part of that camp that just HAS to hate on Jimmy Rollins for some reason. Seriously??!! I am really getting sick of reading and hearing about crap like this.

I said this the other day and i will repeat it…. all of you who are b!tching and moaning about Jimmy Rollins right now will be longing for him once he’s gone and playing for another team if that ever happens.

The descent of the team to new depths is truly saddening when we are discussing trading Jimmy Rollins two weeks before opening day. The manner in which the discussion has started, however, is down right sickening. Seriously, slandering the greatest shortstop in Phillies history with comments made by “anonymous” sources is an all-time low. I’ve, by and large, defended the organization’s dubious moves over the last three years but this smear campaign is truly indefensible.

This whole debacle could easily be another Amaro generated smoke screen, but the timing is all wrong. If this were May and the Phils were 10 games under .500, that would be the time to divert attention. I think this is just an example of a player that’s grown far too comfortable in his current skin, nothing more than a detriment to his team. Smack of racism all you’d like, Rollins is a malignant mass on a ticking time bomb. This franchise has been utterly ruined from the front office to the core players, yet fans are still expected to pack each home game at a premium price. This is, at best, a bottom-dwelling team. Why screw the fan base by charging soooo much to see this catastrophe up close? Everything needs to be sacrificed – the front office, the players, even some of the fringe “fans”. What we should be left with, is a 700 level mentality, Ryne Sanberg and the Phanatic. If we are going to suck, we might as well be proud of it!

Hi Chuck! There is no question that Jimmy is still one of the better shortstops. And I agree that since Amaro pushed all in for this season that he has to stay. Its one more year. I think that once Sandberg convinces Jimmy that he’s no Charlie Manuel that he might straighten out. I don’t like the not running out ground balls and I could do without his mouth. But, yeah, Jimmy deserves a little better than the trash talking he’s getting.

There’s no way he goes anywhere without that hit record- and while Jimmy might have a poor attitude I tend to find it interesting as opposed to the cookie cutter answers almost every other player gives in interviews

To be fair to the writer, I don’t have any reason to believe racial dog whistles are at work here – and I say that someone who is acutely aware of the frequent use of the technique, especially omnipresent since Mr.Obama took office.

The comparison between Rollins and Utley can more fairly be looked at as a comparison between two star middle infielders who came into the league at about the same time and have managed the near impossible these days – that is, staying with one team throughout their careers.

What isn’t fair is the suggestion that Rollins doesn’t care or doesn’t hustle. As a very vocal critic of Rollins and the hundreds of other MLB players who don’t run out grounders, I wouldn’t confuse that with laziness any sooner than I would accuse Howard of not caring about getting on base when he once suggested an out is an out whether he strikes out or flies out.
Obviously that was a misstatement and Ryan knew better – and just as obviously Jimmy meant poor numbers in the Grapefruit League don’t count for all the obvious reasons – just as Ryne Sandberg should have known what Jimmy really meant or that Sandberg’s own silly comment about experimenting with field substitutions was pretty dumb-sounding since virtually every team has been subbing for decades with high success – and 28 teams sub more than the Phillies. Or just like Ruben shouldn’t have to dip his toes in the world of sabermetrics to test their already proven value or Dave Montgomery should be able to figure out that bad teams create empty seats and spending less because attendance is down is counterproductive to everyone’s best interest. Hey, I always found it annoying to listen to Schmitty talk about himself in the 3rd person. In other words, silly comments transcend race, color, creed or age. But rather than concern myself with a player’s communication skills (or lack thereof) my time could have been better spent appreciating Mike’s amazing feats on the field. And Jimmy Rollins? His feats on the field are still pretty damned amazing, too and I wouldn’t trade them for all the Galvis’s in Florida. Nothing against Freddie who I do like.

Sure, I wish Jimmy would run to first more and run his mouth less – but for his own sake since nobody is benefitting from the latter. Just don’t try to convince me that the greatest short stop in Philadelphia history is a bum. As Lincoln is rumored to have said when someone complained to him about Grant being a drunk, “Find out what the man is drinking and distribute it to the rest of my generals.”

I feel the same way you do- I cannot be convinced that Jimmy is in any way harmful to the rest of the team. Jimmy is what he is, take it or leave it, I guess we’ll find out what the Phils are thinking soon. Detroit needs a major league SS pretty bad, if they don’t like Stephen Drew maybe they’ll trade their draft pick for Jimmy- so we can give up ours for Drew-

Oh what a hoot that would be! The team and fan base turn on Jimmy, and we end up with JD Drew’s brother at Short !!

Okay I know everyone is hating this article but I have to agree with certain points. Rollins USED to be a great leader and influence but after we lost to St. Louis in the playoffs it was like he just stopped caring. His numbers showed it too. Lack of hustle and saying stupid crap to the media. I have lost respect for him as a player which is a shame because I used to admire his hustle and enthusiasm. I miss the old Jimmy. Now his motives appear selfish and he doesn’t care. It really is a shame.

I am saddened by Sandberg’s accusations regarding Rollins’ leadership. I cannot help but feel that Larry Bowa has been bending this new manager’s ear on Rollins. To go to the press and fight this kind of battle is counter productive. This is the kind of bullshit we would expect from the Yankees under Billy Martin and the Phillies under Larry Bowa (remember Scott Rolen?) Both bullies and overly high-strung leaders who were indeed very, very divisive.

I don’t need to do. It was an opinion piece. I’m sorry more people don’t agree with my point of view but I’m not backing down on it. I never said Rollins hasn’t been an important part of this team’s history, as I made that clear in my first sentence, and I never said he’s a bum. I just said in general I think it is time to move on and I don’t believe he has the best attitude towards things.

If you don’t agree that is perfectly fine. Also, I’m just going to laugh off the racist comments. That’s the biggest joke I’ve read on the internet. If you think I was comparing Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins because of a race thing then I mean there”s nothing I can say to really change your mind. That is SO far out there…

Even in an opinion piece, some defense of a position with actual facts and reasons is ALWAYS a must. Otherwise, the writer come off as a lunatic shouting “Fire” in a crowded theater when someone has merely lit a cigarette.

Wether it’s really your belief or not, this article makes you sound like you simply detest Rollins and think he is, indeed, a bum. I suggest you l;earn a little more about putting togethjer a TRUE opinion piece before you again post anything so scattershot, and yes, racist sounding (again, whether unintentional or not).

Readers are generally intelligent and sensitive; thats why you can’t just say “This guy now stinks” and expect people to unquestioningly agree.

No, sadly that’s how you chose to read it. I had a whole paragraph with stats showing how Rollins play has severely declined and he is not statistically a back end shortstop in baseball. You chose not to read that. I’m going to keep writing. You don’t have to read it, sorry George.

And, no, it wasn’t racist sounding at all. Just because I compared a black player to a white player it doesn’t make it racist. That is silly and ridiculous.

Martin, whether intentional or not, the article came across as a baseless indictment:

“Enough, Jimmy.” — In the title and prominent early in the piece, this makes it seem like Rollins has been on some kind of reckless rampage, when all he’s done is to try to answer reporters’ questions.

“Rollins is more worried about individual statistics than team ones.” — There is no basis for saying this.

“Rollins never shuts his mouth.” — So you want Rollins to pull a Steve Carlton when reporters come with questions?

“The former 2007 MVP no longer has the stats to back up his play either.” — Huh? Maybe you mean the stats to back up his mouth, but either way, you’re point is that he’s no longer a great player. And that means he needs to go? Is there no middle ground between “great” and “must go”? Is Galvis great?

“It is time for Rollins to quiet his mouth and stop being a distraction” — You seem to have a real problem with his mouth, for some reason. And why is it Rollins who you think is the distraction, and not the rookie manager who is tripping over himself to prove he’s the boss?

“Jimmy’s act has gotten stale in Philadelphia.” — act? What act is that?

Oh my sweet summer child, not seeing the racial overtones just makes it worse. You compare Utley’s “blue collar” approach to the game and his “high IQ,” while you claim that Rollins lacks these, and instead only has “swagger.” Laughing off the racial critiques won’t make you a better writer, in fact not addressing these (perhaps not even consciously done) issues makes you more likely to repeat them.

“This is because Utley plays a blue collar style of baseball. He hustles on every ground ball, has a high baseball IQ, is a team first player, respects the fans of Philadelphia, and rarely talks to the media or opens his mouth up.”

Are you saying that everything in this list is in contrast to Rollins EXCEPT for the IQ part?

Martin – I am the the one that was saying that you didn’t yet come on to defend yourself. I am the one that now has started this little debate. And what sort of attitude is it that you have when you say, in reference to defending your position, “I don’t need to. It was an opinion piece.” Seriously??!! Just who do you think you are? That comment alone makes you and your article look cheap and extremely amateurish.

I’m sorry I’m just not going to argue with people calling it a racist article when I’m the one who wrote it and I would know if there was any racism behind it. You guys have strong opinions too good for you. Keep on keeping on.

Martin, I never even said ANYTHING about it being racist. When I first read it that thought never even entered my mind. For me, it was just a poorly thought out piece with very few facts to back it up. (See schmenkman’s post above at 10:49 PM for a better understanding of that – and he doesn’t mention racism, either.)

The people critiquing this article seem to be ignoring the blatant truth and finding every excuse in the book to discredit this guy. First of all if you make this a racial thing it’s because you yourself are racist. Nothing in this article mentioned race you CHOSE to make that something. We are comparing personalities and work ethic not skin color. Would you prefer he used Revere or even Chooch over Utley? Because they both have more hustle and care more about the team than Rollins. I said it before, Rollins was a great player and he is still not bad (despite his age) BUT he really needs to adjust his attitude. This has been going on since 2011. Whenever I would read post game wrap ups Rollins would always sound non-chalant like he didn’t care about the team. I would watch him play like he didn’t care and let me tell you something, I AM A PHILLIES FAN, I support a whole team, not an individual player. And when a player on my favorite team chooses to act like they don’t care about that team I have no respect for them. They might as well be playing for the Braves.

“Because they both have more hustle…” — only when running to first on sure outs

” and care more about the team than Rollins.” — there is zero basis for this claim

“BUT he really needs to adjust his attitude.” — why?

“Rollins would always sound non-chalant like he didn’t care about the team.” — the interpretation that “he didn’t care” is an error on the listener’s part, IMO. There is no reason to think Rollins doesn’t care.

Wade – Again, I never mentioned race and neither did schmenkman, I’m pretty sure. In fact, the author, Martin, didn’t either. However, a few commenters in the thread (in fact, the very first one) did insinuate that, which there is no basis for.

1. If the Phillies want to trade Rollins, they’ll most likely have to pay him to waive his 10-and-5 rights.
2. Rollins, like most players of his age, is declining.
3. Rollins projects to be a better player than Freddy Galvis this year.
4. The Phillies – or the media leaking what Phillies sources have supposed shared – have effectively diminished any trade value that Jimmy had by suggesting that he’s selfish, not a leader and generally doesn’t care (even if the only thing he’s on record as not caring about is the team’s hitting struggles in meaningless Spring Training games).

After reviewing all of the above, I don’t get why anyone would want the team to trade Rollins now before the season even starts. If the team falters like many expect, I could see trying to trade Jimmy in an effort to build for 2015 and beyond, but it makes no sense to me why anyone would want them to do so now.

I have been reading this thread with great interest. For quite some time, I stopped coming to Phillies Nation due the immense negativity that I felt was shared throughout each thread. I love the Phillies and again can’t wait for another season to begin. No matter how I feel about the assembled team, I am full of hope for a successful season. If I didn’t, why would I be a fan.

I say all of this because I love the support I am reading for Rollins. Watching ESPN and other sports networks, I just see a ton of negative perceptions about a player that I feel was undeserved as well. Yes, I go crazy every time he hits a pop up…but that doesn’t take away from my feeling that we are watching one of the greatest Phillies ever…not just shortstop. He probably won’t make the Hall of Fame…but damn, he is not that far off. I know that his skills are diminishing, but that often happens to players at this age…but to say that he is just not trying is ridiculous. I am hopeful that as fans we don’t run this guy out of town and cheapen what he has done for the city. I am hopeful for a bounce-back year but fearful that all of these distractions will continue to take away his focus of playing on the field. Galvis? Seriously?

I think you summarize my own feelings pretty well. Sometimes on this site and elsewhere there is too much negativity masquerading as critical analysis. For this season I know lot of things need to go right for the Phillies to be competitive; but I think that they can happen; that’s why we’re fans.

Call me overly optimistic, but I believe the current controversy is much ado about nothing and in a surprising development, common sense will prevail! Like dealing with a squabbling married couple, the Phillies and Jimmy Rollins both need each other; the just don’t realize it yet! (Paging Dr. Phil) At the end of the day, Sandberg and the Phillies will realize that a happy and productive Jimmy Rollins is STILL their best option at shortstop. Jimmy Rollins will understand that it is in his best financial interest (getting his 2015 option activated) to tow the management line and be a productive player. Both sides will make adjustments to the other and in the end it’s a win-win solution.

Of course all this is predicated on Jimmy Rollins being a productive player this year; if not it’s going to be a long season.

There seems to be an abnormal amount of interest in this one player, a love/hate relationship. Let’s go to stats. The entire group needs to improve if there is to be a chance of 500 ball. One player who gets into a bad spot doesn’t make an entire Team go south.

His mouth as reported thru out has sparked some interest both positive and negative. we’re the team to beat didn’t make people jump up and down about his mouth. I think the past few years Rollins has let up on playing at 100% at times. That doesn’t take away his gold glove for fielding.

Reasonably, I think we have to look at the clubhouse as a whole and observe the lack of cohesion in the ranks. A young player could easily feel the situation in a flash and probably wonder why he struggled to get here anyway.

I can identify with Rollins and his not running out ground balls, at the end of my career I was just so worn out I couldn’t go the extra mile and decided it was time to go home. Maybe that is where he is at this time. If so one can only wish him the best of luck. He has a wife and young family and some of this joy of baseball, maybe diverted to that interest. Why not?

Overall, Team we are looking forward to some armchair entertainment this summer, don’t let us down.